2 Esdras 3:1-6

1 Thirty years after the fall of Jerusalem, I, Shealtiel (also known as Ezra), was in Babylon. I was lying on my bed, troubled and disturbed, ¹

2 as I thought about the ruins of Jerusalem and the prosperity of those who lived in Babylon.

3 I was deeply disturbed and began to express my fears to God Most High.

4 "O Lord and Master," I said, "you, and you alone, spoke the word at the beginning of creation and formed the world. At your command the dust

5 produced the lifeless body of Adam. Then with your hands you shaped it, you breathed into it the breath of life, and he began to live.

6 You brought him into the Garden of Eden, which you yourself had planted before the earth was made.

Cross References 1